Previous attempts to make anodes relied on grinding together the titania and carbon, perhaps adding a binder, and pressing into pellets. Then the mixture was fired at high temperature under an inert atmosphere (or vacuum) to get partial reaction. This was then ground to a powder, mixed with more carbon, pressed into the desired shape, and fired again. One problem with this technique is the difficulty of getting good mixing between two fine powders which have very different densities. The titania and carbon can easily become unmixed when the lighter carbon floats to the top. Another drawback is that this is a multi-step process requiring grinding a very hard, sintered mass (which takes energy, produces dust, and introduces impurities) and two energy-intensive heating cycles.
Zhu et al. (CN 1712571A) disclose carbothermal reduction and anode formation using physical mixtures of TiO2 and C or TiC. For example, from a titanium oxycarbide anode:Ti(O0.5C0.5)−2ē→Ti+2+½CO⇑(anode)  1.Ti+2+2ē→Ti0 (cathode)  2.The O/C ratio of the anode can deviate from 1. O/C ratios less than 1 are generally considered undesirable because excess carbon will be left behind and present a potential source of Ti metal product contamination. On the other hand, an excess of oxygen can be accommodated by formation of CO/CO2 off-gas mixtures:Ti(O0.6C0.4)−2ē→Ti+2+0.2 CO⇑+0.2 CO2⇑(anode)  3.
A need exists for processes that include fewer steps, e.g., a single mixing step, a single heating step, and no intermediate grinding to produce an anode.